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Toby going in for patella surgery on Thursday

Hey all!
So my rescue Toby is going in for patella surgery on his left leg - I just want to make sure I am prepared...I was hoping we could put this off longer as he has so many issues I wanted to get on top of first, but it is getting worse and he's now a grade 3/4.

Anyways, so here is what I have done so far...am I forgetting anything?

- lined all of our hardwood floors with non slip rugs
- cut up all the hair and feathers on and under his paws to prevent slipping
- have baby gates in place on all stairs and hallways to separate rooms to make them smaller (I live in an open floor plan style house)
- have a play pen for him to be in (he cannot cope with crates given his past, so we are having to get creative here)

What else??

Given his SM sort of issues, he is sensitive around his head/neck - will a cone bother him? What are my other options?

I am so anxious about the whole thing. I hope he copes okay...in the past, pain can make him aggressive and also have panic attacks, so I am so sad we have to do this....but I know it means less pain in the future. Our Vet Behaviourist has already given us meds to have on hand if he has one of his panic attacks (they are very scary episodes, he can't breathe, stares into a corner, shakes and does not respond - like an awake seizure but with panic and total fear). And I hope to just keep him calm.

I am also taking a week off work to be with him. Since I can't crate him, I just need to watch over him like a hawk and keep him calm.

Any extra advice or stories on what it was like for you would be great. I imagine won't get sleep for a while!

Hello there
You are doing all the right things. I know you can't put him in a crate, but keeping him confined for a while afterwards is a very good thing as the less he trys to walk on his leg the better in the early days. When megan had hers done, she would have carried on walking everywhere if she could, so keeping an eye on him is essential. We carried her into the garden and back in the house again, and at night, she slept in her soft crate on our bed, so she couldn't go wandering at night, and also so we didnt accidently nudge her in our sleep. The anti slip rugs are perfect for when he does start to be allowed to walk by himself. I think Karlin popped something up online quite recently about recovery times for this operation, so would be worth searching for that too.
All the best in this - the new lease of life for your little boy will be massive after this operation, and everything you will have to go through initially will be 100% worth it.

Really wishing all the best for you and Toby with this surgery. I think you sound very prepared and I would concur that an xpen for confinement is a great idea, rather than a crate. Have you ever used something like the Nina Ottosen dog puzzles with him? These might be great for working together and giving him some brain exercise.

I am curious whether your neurologist has ever assessed him for those 'panic attacks'? To me they do not sound like behavioural situations, but like a type of seizure activity in their own right. I would be wondering whether a neurologist might be able to eliminate those.

Toby is recovering well from surgery! He has these bandages off now, but I though this was the cutest pic

His leg looks amazing when the bandages came off, and now it is trying to keep him still and quiet. He seems overall really happy and the specialist took amazing care of him so we had no panic attacks or anything. The nurses even kept him out of the crate just next to them for most of his recovery.

I am hoping this all leads to a much more mobile, pain free and happy man. He deserves it! And now, once this is fixed, we can also see what behaviours came from pain, as well as if he is still having pain issues, we can narrow down more.